Cricket News: A new era in Irish cricket started on Sunday with the formal dissolution of the Irish Cricket Union during its agm in Dundalk.

In line with reforms in other national sporting bodies, a streamlined board will now take charge of the game in the country, operating as a company under the name "Irish Cricket Union Limited".

Much of the impetus for the change came from the Irish Sports Council's credo that sporting bodies must instigate the highest possible levels of corporate governance to benefit from continued grant funding.

There will be 11 members on the board, seven nominated by the four provincial unions, and four independent directors, recommended by a nominations committee.

David Williams will chair the board, with Wylie McKinty and Richard Johnson representing the Northern Cricket Union; Joe Doherty from the North West; Arthur Vincent and Matt Sheridan from Leinster; and James Doran from Munster.

The four independent directors are Jerry Liston, a former executive chairman of United Drug and current chairman of the Irish Aviation Authority; Dr Mary Redmond, a former deputy governor of the Bank of Ireland and current chair of FM4; former IRFU Ulster Branch president Brian Turtle; and ex-Irish international cricketer Allan Rutherford.

Williams welcomed the composition of the board, saying: "The new company will streamline our operation, and be a sign of the increasing professionalism that is needed in modern sport. We have a wide range of expertise at our disposal, and I'm confident that the future of Irish cricket is in very capable hands."

Outgoing chairman Dr Murray Power and ICU secretary John Wright, who both step down from their posts, received special praise for their long service to the game in the country.

The new president of the union is Ballymena man John Caldwell, a former chairman of the ICU and NCU, where he also served for two years as president.